Federal
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October 29, 2025
Partnership Challenges Nix of $4.5M Easement Deduction
The Internal Revenue Service relied on an audit report that failed to meet the requirements of the Administrative Procedure Act when it rejected a partnership's $4.5 million tax deduction for donating a conservation easement across more than 50 acres in Tennessee, the partnership told the U.S. Tax Court as it challenged the rejection.
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October 29, 2025
Fla. Challenges 'Special' Calif. Tax Rule At Supreme Court
Florida on Tuesday took steps to sue California in the U.S. Supreme Court, seeking to strike down a California taxation rule as unconstitutional for allegedly discouraging companies from relocating or operating outside the Golden State.
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October 29, 2025
IRS Wrongly Nixed Insurance Transactions, Tax Court Told
A Tennessee company that claims to provide in-house insurance to businesses supporting the U.S. Department of Defense and NATO has challenged more than $500,000 in tax liabilities and the IRS' denial of its status as an insurer, according to a U.S. Tax Court petition.
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October 29, 2025
Publix Heiress Asks To Quash IRS Summons For Bank Info
An heiress to the Publix grocery store chain asked a Florida federal court to quash an IRS summons seeking her bank information on behalf of Italian tax officials, arguing that the agency's request flouts the Italy-U.S. tax treaty.
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October 29, 2025
Partnership Fights For $56M Tax Break For Conservation Gift
A partnership is entitled to a $56 million tax deduction for donating a conservation easement over more than 200 acres in Louisiana that protects farmland and wildlife, including a threatened bird species, the partnership told the U.S. Tax Court in challenging the Internal Revenue Service.
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October 28, 2025
Baltimore Atty Found Personally Liable For Entity's Taxes
A Baltimore attorney who manages a client's holding company is personally responsible for paying the entity's unpaid taxes, a Maryland federal judge said, finding that he approved and oversaw loan transactions that prompted the IRS to seek $2 million from the entity.
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October 28, 2025
Contractor Didn't Back Up Tax Debt Plan, Tax Court Rules
The IRS did nothing wrong in rejecting a proposal by a general contracting business to pay off its tax debt in installments, the U.S. Tax Court ruled Tuesday, saying the business didn't provide the agency with the financial information needed to back up its offer.
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October 28, 2025
Ex-Khashoggi Atty Gets One Year For Lying On Taxes
A Maryland attorney with a high-profile client list who pled guilty to lying on his tax returns was sentenced Tuesday in Michigan federal court to spend a year in prison and pay $354,000 in restitution, as the judge said she felt that to "just lose some money" wasn't enough punishment.
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October 28, 2025
Senate Democrats Criticize New Role Of IRS CEO
Having the Social Security Administration's top administrator simultaneously serve in the newly created role of CEO of the IRS seems illegal and, given the needs of both agencies, ineffective, Senate Democrats said in letters raising questions about the recent appointment.
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October 28, 2025
US, Japan Sign Agreement On Key Minerals
The U.S. and Japan agreed Tuesday to coordinate on securing and refining important minerals, while outlining a series of Japanese investments in U.S. industries, according to an announcement published by the White House.
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October 28, 2025
Tax Software Co. Denies Poaching Rival's Workers
Tax preparation software company Avalara asked a Pennsylvania federal court to deny claims by a competitor that it illegally lured workers with generous job offers, saying it did not unfairly compete or interfere with the competitor's contracts as it claimed.
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October 28, 2025
Trump Appeals 'Unprecedented' NY Criminal Conviction
President Donald Trump appealed his New York criminal conviction for falsifying business records, arguing the charges were defective, the jury was improperly instructed, the judge was biased and that he was immune from prosecution.
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October 27, 2025
Ore. Religious Group Loses Tax-Exempt Bid In Claims Court
An Oregon religious organization lost its challenge in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims to regain its church tax-exempt status, which the Internal Revenue Service revoked after determining that much of the group's spending personally benefited the founders' family members.
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October 27, 2025
Cambodia Agrees To Cut Tariffs, Barriers In US Trade Deal
Cambodia agreed to cut tariffs, refrain from imposing a digital services tax, remove nontariff trade barriers and accept U.S. regulatory standards in a trade agreement with the U.S. in exchange for tariff exemptions.
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October 27, 2025
US Unveils Trade Frameworks For Vietnam, Thailand Deals
The U.S. issued new details on a framework trade deal it reached months ago with Vietnam and announced a new framework deal with Thailand, according to announcements made by the White House on Sunday.
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October 27, 2025
Malaysia Agrees To Toss Digital Tax In Trade Pact With US
Malaysia agreed to stop imposing its digital services tax on U.S. companies, invest $70 billion stateside and lower trade barriers on American goods in a trade agreement with the U.S. in exchange for tariff exemptions.
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October 27, 2025
Vialto Adds Nearly 30 Immigration Pros From Seyfarth
Vialto Partners announced Monday that its immigration law-focused affiliate, Vialto Law (US) LLP, has brought on nearly 30 legal professionals from Seyfarth Shaw LLP, including nine attorneys.
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October 27, 2025
Staff Losses, Gambling To Challenge IRS In 2026, TIGTA Says
Employee losses and budget cuts rank among the top challenges predicted to affect the IRS next year, along with protecting taxpayer data, implementing changes in tax law and collecting taxes on gambling winnings, according to an annual report released Monday by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration.
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October 24, 2025
Feds Want Goldstein To Disclose 'Blame Everyone' Defense
The federal government Friday urged a Maryland federal judge to give SCOTUSblog co-founder Tom Goldstein a December deadline to disclose whether he intends to assert at trial that he failed to file tax returns due to legal advice, saying it expects him to "blame everyone other than himself."
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October 24, 2025
Former Judges Tell Justices To Strike Down Trump's Tariffs
Former federal judges and government officials, joined by scholars, economists, businesses and interest groups, told the U.S. Supreme Court this week that President Donald Trump's emergency tariffs should be struck down because the law the president has utilized does not give him power to impose those measures.
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October 24, 2025
Avalara Investors Fight Stay In $8.4B Buyout Dispute
Shareholders of tax software company Avalara are fighting a motion by the company in Washington federal court to stay litigation accusing it of misleading investors ahead of an $8.4 billion deal to take the company private.
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October 24, 2025
Tax Pros Expect No IRS Word Soon On 'Friendly Doctor' Deals
The tax treatment of private equity investments in medical firms and other professional practices remains unresolved as the Internal Revenue Service delays updates to long-awaited consolidated return regulations and focuses instead on implementing the new 2025 Republican budget law, tax experts said Friday.
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October 24, 2025
USTR To Probe China's Adherence To 2020 Trade Deal
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative opened an investigation Friday into China's adherence to a 2020 trade deal after determining there has been an "apparent failure to comply" with its terms, an accusation disputed by a Chinese government representative who spoke with Law360.
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October 24, 2025
Par Funding CEO's Wife Gets 1-Day Jail Term, $1.7M Penalty
The wife of Par Funding founder and convicted fraudster Joseph LaForte has been sentenced to one day in prison and a nearly $1.7 million penalty after pleading guilty to a charge related to evading taxes.
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October 24, 2025
Tile Importer Fights $1.8M In Taxes Over Captive Arrangement
A New York glass tile importer doesn't owe $1.8 million in taxes and penalties related to its captive insurance program as the Internal Revenue Service has claimed, the company told the U.S. Tax Court.
7th Circ. Skeptical Of Bid To Toss Ex-Atty's Bribery Conviction
Judges on a Seventh Circuit panel appeared doubtful Wednesday of a former attorney's contention that he never bribed ex-Chicago Alderman Ed Burke and was merely seeking to hire him for a legal matter.
Shutdown Raises Concerns About IRS Reg Timing, 2026 Filing
The federal government shutdown is likely to delay critical IRS guidance for retroactive tax provisions in this summer's budget bill and impair customer service at the agency as it drags on, causing headaches for taxpayers, tax observers say.
Estate Agrees To Settlement In $50M Solar Co. Tax Row
The estate of a former business associate of solar company owners caught in a $50 million tax fraud agreed to settle with a receiver appointed to collect company assets, according to a Utah federal court order, bringing the yearslong collection effort spanning dozens of settlements closer to an end.
Featured Stories
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Modeling Needed To Gauge Private Equity's Interest Deduction
The Republican budget law's revival of a more generous business interest deduction has energized private equity deals that heavily rely on loans, though investors must run detailed financial modeling to measure how much the perk might truly pay off.
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French Digital Tax Ruling Puts Spotlight On Trade Tensions
A French court decision that upheld the nation's digital services tax could bolster similar measures in other European Union member states, but legal backing may mean little if countries use DSTs as bargaining chips in tariff negotiations with the United States.
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Tarter Krinsky Real Estate Chair Sees Office Market 'Normalcy'
Despite lingering economic questions, the office market is starting to reach a state of "normalcy," Tarter Krinsky's real estate leader told Law360 in a recent interview.
Expert Analysis
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Law School's Missed Lessons: Educating Your Community
Nearly two decades prosecuting scammers and elder fraud taught me that proactively educating the public about the risks they face and the rights they possess is essential to building trust within our communities, empowering otherwise vulnerable citizens and preventing wrongdoers from gaining a foothold, says Roger Handberg at GrayRobinson.
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5 Crisis Lawyering Skills For An Age Of Uncertainty
As attorneys increasingly face unprecedented and pervasive situations — from prosecutions of law enforcement officials to executive orders targeting law firms — they must develop several essential competencies of effective crisis lawyering, says Ray Brescia at Albany Law School.
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It's Time For The Judiciary To Fix Its Cybersecurity Problem
After recent reports that hackers have once again infiltrated federal courts’ electronic case management systems, the judiciary should strengthen its cybersecurity practices in line with executive branch standards, outlining clear roles and responsibilities for execution, says Ilona Cohen at HackerOne.
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Rules Of Origin Revamp May Be Next Big Trade Development
The rules of origin for determining what tariff applies to any given import appear to be on the cusp of an important rethink, and it seems likely that the administration will try to align the rule with its overall tariff strategy in one of three ways, says Ted Posner at Baker Botts.
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IRS Shutdown Backlog May Trigger Collection, Refund Chaos
As the IRS continues to send automated collection notices amid the ongoing federal government shutdown, a mounting backlog of unprocessed refunds, collections filings and mail is causing problems for taxpayers that will continue even after the shutdown ends, says Meeren Amin at Fox Rothschild.
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SDNY OpenAI Order Clarifies Preservation Standards For AI
The Southern District of New York’s recent order in the OpenAI copyright infringement litigation, denying discovery of The New York Times' artificial intelligence technology use, clarifies that traditional preservation benchmarks apply to AI content, relieving organizations from using a “keep everything” approach, says Philip Favro at Favro Law.
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High Court, Not A Single Justice, Should Decide On Recusal
As public trust in the U.S. Supreme Court continues to decline, the court should adopt a collegial framework in which all justices decide questions of recusal together — a reform that respects both judicial independence and due process for litigants, say Michael Broyde at Emory University and Hayden Hall at the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware.
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Adapting To Private Practice: 3 Tips On Finding The Right Job
After 23 years as a state and federal prosecutor, when I contemplated moving to a law firm, practicing solo or going in-house, I found there's a critical first step — deep self-reflection on what you truly want to do and where your strengths lie, says Rachael Jones at McKool Smith.
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Painting Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Painting trains me to see both the fine detail and the whole composition at once, enabling me to identify friction points while keeping sight of a client's bigger vision, but the most significant lesson I've brought to my legal work has been the value of originality, says Jana Gouchev at Gouchev Law.
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Compliance Pointers Amid Domestic Terrorism Clampdown
A recent presidential memorandum marks a shift in federal domestic-terrorism enforcement that should prompt nonprofits to enhance diligence related to grantees, vendors and events, and financial institutions to shore up their internal resources for increased suspicious-activity monitoring and reporting obligations, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.
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Trump Tax Law Has Mixed Impacts On Commercial Real Estate
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act brings sweeping changes to the real estate industry — and while the permanency of opportunity zones and bonus depreciation creates predictability for some taxpayers, sunsetting incentives for renewable energy projects will leave others with hard choices, says Jordan Metzger at Cole Schotz.
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Protecting Sensitive Court Filings After Recent Cyber Breach
In the wake of a recent cyberattack on federal courts' Case Management/Electronic Case Files system, civil litigants should consider seeking enhanced protections for sensitive materials filed under seal to mitigate the risk of unauthorized exposure, say attorneys at Redgrave.
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What Ethics Rules Say On Atty Discipline For Online Speech
Though law firms are free to discipline employees for their online commentary about Charlie Kirk or other social media activity, saying crude or insensitive things on the internet generally doesn’t subject attorneys to professional discipline under the Model Rules of Professional Conduct, says Stacie H. Rosenzweig at Halling & Cayo.